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Aircraft 1903-1918

At the beginning of the First World War, aircraft were frail machines, unarmed and suitable only for reconnaissance duties. By its end, pilots in swift, heavily armed fighters were shooting each other out of the sky over the Western Front, bombers were showering high-explosive and incendiary bombs on battlefield and town alike; the first dive bombers had attacked pin-point targets; at sea, torpedo-planes had scored their first victories.

The pictures—all types of aircraft from all countries—provide a unique guide to the way aircraft have developed, and clearly show the big impetus to development given by the two world wars. The book also shows how many of the best and most important aircraft produced over the last half century were developed by Britain. This fact should be remembered when people discuss whether or not Britain should have a strong aircraft industry.

LANDMARKS

1783: First manned balloon ascent made by Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d’Arlandes

1784: First balloon ascent in Britain made by James Tyler, at Edinburgh

1802: First parachute descent made by Garnerin (in England) from a balloon over London

Flyer 1, 1903: was the first powered, heavier-than-air aircraft to make a successful sustained and controlled flight. The historic flight was made on 17 December, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, with Orville Wright at the controls.

Flyer 3, 1905: this was the first fully practical powered aeroplane. It made 59 flights, including one lasting over 38 minutes. In 1908 it was modified to carry a passenger, sitting on the leading edge of the wing.

14-bis, 1906: this grotesque machine is famous and remembered only because it made the first official aeroplane flights in Europe in 1906. This aircraft was a freak, and did not help the development of practical aeroplanes. The peculiar name “14-bis” was given to it because Alberto Santos-Dumont first tested the machine slung under the dirigible airship number 14.

Voisin-Farman 1, 1907: made by Voisin, this machine was modified by Henry Farman. In this form it became the first aeroplane after the Wright Flyer number 2, 1904, to remain airborne for over a minute and turn a complete circle. The latter flight, made on 13 January, 1908, won Farman the Deutsch-Archdeacon prize of 50,000 francs for completing the first official circle of one kilometre in diameter.

Roe 1, 1908: tested initially by being towed behind a car at Brooklands, this purposeful biplane made short hops in 1908, including one believed to be 150 ft. (46 m.) in June.The flight was not officially observed, however, and did not allow Alliot Verdon Roe to claim he was the first Briton to fly a powered aeroplane in Britain.

Antoinette 1909: considered the best of the early monoplanes, the Antoinette was a beautifully made machine and of modern configuration. An Antoinette just failed to become the first aeroplane to cross the English Channel when, during an attempt, its engine stopped a few miles from the coast. Latham, the pilot, ditched safely and was rescued by a destroyer.

Bleriot XI, 1909: flown by M. Louis Bleriot, the model XI was the first aircraft to cross the English Channel, doing so on 25 July, 1909. The venture nearly ended in disaster as, mid-channel, the engine began to overheat. Fortunately a providential rain shower cooled it just in time. An improved version of this aircraft was used for reconnaissance.

Golden Flyer, 1909: developed from the earlier June Bug, the Golden Flyer represented an important compromise between stability and controllability. It started the rival biplane tradition to the Wright Flyer in the United States.

Voisin, 1909: type used for the first officially recognized flight by a British pilot in Britain, which was made in April 1909 by J.T.C. Moore-Brabazon (later Lord Brabazon of Tara), flying his own Voisin named Bird of Passage.

Henry Farman III, 1909: relatively easy to fly, the aircraft popular as a safe, sporting machine. It won the prize for the longest distance flown during the great air show at Rheims in 1909, which was attended by a quarter of a million people

Maurice Farman “Longhorn”, 1911: in spite of its Wright-type forward elevator, which made it unstable and tricky to fly, the Longhorn was used extensively for training purposes, particularly in Britain. French squadrons used Longhorns for reconnaissance duties until 1915. A development of the Longhorn, with elevator located behind the rudders, was appropriately known as the ‘Shorthorn’.

Avro 504, 1914: over 8,000 of this two-seat trainer were built; it is generally considered to be the greatest training machine of all time. Many versions were produced, one of the best known being the 504J. Nearly 300 504s were fitted with machine-guns and served with Home Defence Units for use against Zeppelins and Gothas attempting to bomb London.

Morane-Saulnier Scout, 1914: this fighter, one of the best of its time, was in service when the First World War started. One was fitted with a crude ‘bullet deflector’ gear enabling a forward firing machine-gun to be fitted, but was shot down and captured. Antony Fokker examined the gear, and realising its importance, designed and fitted a more efficient system to his Eindekker monoplanes, giving them superiority over Allied aircraft during 1915.

JN.4 Jenny, 1914: a two-seat trainer, the JN.4 was one of the most widely used training aeroplanes, being used throughout the 1914-18 war period in America, Canada, Britain and France. Many pupils crashed., however, when attempting aerobatics, for which the aircraft had not been designed.

Eindekker Scout, 1914: known as the ‘Fokker monoplane’, this aircraft ushered in the era of air combat, being fitted with Fokker’s interrupter gear, which ‘timed’ bullets so that they passed between the propeller blades, enabling the pilots to aim by simply pointing the complete aircraft. Although only about 200 were built they were effective enough to gain supremacy over the Western Front in 1915 and early 1916.

Gunbus, 1915: this two-seater fighter reconnaissance aircraft helped to overcome the menace of the Fokker monoplanes. Although it was relatively slow, its forward mounted machine-gun proved very effective. When the aircraft went into service in 1914, it was the only one with provision for mounting a machine-gun-hence the name ‘Gunbus’.

Nieuport 17 Scout, 1915: this single-seater fighter helped end the ‘Fokker Scourge’ of the Eindekker Scout. The improved model 17 entered service in 1916 and proved to be one of the best fighters of the First World War. When used for attacks on German observation balloons, four Le Prieur ‘firework-type’ rockets were attached to each interplane strut, and were fired electrically.

Short 225 Seaplane, 1915: Known popularly as the ‘225’but officially as the Short Type 184, this naval aircraft was the only floatplane to take part in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, when one was used for reconnaissance. The 225 was also the first aircraft to sink a ship by torpedo when it attacked a Turkish troopship during the Gallipoli campaign.

L.V.G. Bomber, 1915: used for reconnaissance and bombing, a small number of L.V.G.s were in the German air force at the outbreak of war in 1914. Like their British counterparts, they were unarmed and suffered heavy losses. This resulted in the much improved C.V, armed with machine-guns, which proved formidable adversary, in spite of the pilot’s exceptionally poor view forward.

Pup, 1916: A single-seat scout, the Pup is considered by many pilots to be the most pleasant aircraft to fly ever built. In combat it was so manoeuvrable that it could out-fly the formidable German Albatros fighter. Pups were used in pioneer carrier operations, an aircraft of this type making the first-ever landing on a ship under way.

Spad Scout, 1916: This single-seat fighter was one of the more successful aircraft of the First World War; 8,472 were built. It was used extensively by French, Italian and American air units and, on the Western Front, two British squadrons who flew machines ‘swopped’ from the R.N.A.S. for Sopwith Triplanes. SPADS equipped the French ‘Cigognes’ whose insignia was a symbolic stork, and who used the machine’s ability to dive steeply without falling to bits to good effect in dog fights.

Boeing B & W Seaplane, 1916: When this little seaplane took off for the first time nobody could have foreseen that the 21 men who built it in an old-boat-house would become the world’s biggest aeroplane company. From the B & W developed both the Flying Fortress bombers of the Second World War and the Boeing jet airliners. The picture shows a flying scale replica of the original, built to commemorate Boeing’s 50th anniversary. It has a good rate of climb- it can get up to 5,000 ft. (1,500 m.) in half an hour!

Bristol Fighter 1916: Known affectionately as the ‘Brisfit’, this was one of the war’s outstanding combat aircraft, although it got off to a bad start when four were shot down by von Richthofen, because the pilots adopted the usual 2-seater defensive technique of letting their observer do most of the shooting. However, when pilots learned to fly the manoeuvrable Brisfit fighter like a single-seater, front guns as the main weapon, observer’s gun sting-in-the-tail, it won both victories and respect from the enemy.

D.H.4, 1917: A day bomber, the D.H.4 was fast enough to outfly enemy fighters, as did its successor, the Mosquito in the Second World War. The wide gap between the two cockpits made communication between the pilot and the observer difficult, but this handicap did not prevent the D.H.4 from becoming the outstanding day bomber of the First World War. Altogether 1,449 were built.

Albatros Scout, 1917: To regain supremacy after the ‘Fokker Scourge’ had been overcome, the Germans put the Albatros series into production. The D.III, in units of 14 and led by aces, proved a formidable adversary, shooting down many British B.E.2c’s. The Albatros had an unusually smooth and ‘streamlined’ fuselage for its day and this undoubtedly contributed to its fine performance.

Sopwith Triplane, 1917: The basic advantage claimed for this single-seater fighter was its wing arrangement; this obscured the pilot’s view less than the broader chord wings of biplanes and monoplanes, and gave it a rapid rate of climb and a high degree of manoeuvrability. Although not so famous as its Fokker counterpart, the Sopwith Triplane achieved impressive success in its brief career, which lasted from early 1917 until the autumn of that year, when it was superseded by the Camel.

S.E.5a , 1917: This single-seater fighter, was, in combat efficiency, second only to the Sopwith Camel. Designed around the new Hispano-Suiza engine it was slightly less manoeuvrable than the Camel, but steadier, making it a better gun platform for aerial fighting. Some famous British fighter aces scored many of their victories while flying the S.E.5a’s, including V.C winners Mannock (73 victories), Bishop (72), McCudden (57).

ARMAMENT: Two fixed machine-guns firing forward, one on top of the fuselage, one above the wing centre section

CRUISING SPEED: 138 m.p.h. (220 km. p.h.)

CEILING: 17000’ (5,200 m.) fully loaded

ENGINE(S): One 200 h.p. Hispano Suiza

Camel, 1917

Camel, 1917: The camel which destroyed 1294 enemy aircraft, is considered the greatest fighter of the First World War. It was designed as a more powerful successor to the Pup and although not so pleasant to fly, it was even more manoeuvrable, and has been described as the most manoeuvrable ever built, being particularly fast on right hand turns, owing to the gyroscopic force produced by the rotary motor and the short fuselage. It was a tricky aircraft for novices, and many were killed attempting to make their first flight in one.

Gotha, 1917: This was the most successful of several long-range bombers designed by Germany. Gothas flew over London in daylight and dropped bombs with impunity on a surprised city only recently relieved of the threat of Zeppelin attacks. The Gotha threat, finally overcome by Bristols and Sopwith Camels, was on a scale out of all proportion to the small number of bombs dropped

Handley Page 0/400, 1917: Britain’s Royal Naval Air Service, the first air force to appreciate the damage that could be caused by bombing on a large scale, used the 0/400 to bomb Ostend, Zerbrugge and the aerodromes used by the Gotha which were attacking London. In 1918 0/400s were used for the first-ever sustained strategic night bombing offensive, dropping ;blockbusters’ weighing 1,650 lb. (750 kg.)

Large America, 1917: the reconnaissance flying boat is officially known as the H.12, but is better known as the ‘Large America’ to distinguish it from its predecessor, the ‘Small America’. Although the lightly constructed hull was easily damaged in rough seas, the Large America was extensively used by the R.N.A.S. for anti-submarine, anti-Zeppelin and general reconnaissance duties.

Fokker Triplane, 1917: this is the aircraft used in von Richthofen’s circus. The Fokker’s effectiveness was due to its rapid rate of climb, good manoeuvrability plus Allied confusion caused by its resemblance to the Sopwith Triplane, which is believed to have inspired it. Its weak structure, which caused several to break up in the air, quickly ended its spectacular career.

Salmson, 1917: a two-seat reconnaissance aircraft, the Salmson was used as standard equipment in the American Expeditionary Force as well as with the French Air Force. In spite of its relatively large size, it could be a formidable adversary—one pilot shot down eight aircraft ising his fixed, forward firing machine-gun. The total number of Salmsons built was 3,200.

Fokker D.VII, 1918: this outstanding fighter helped to end the period of complete Allied superiority. Easy to fly, with a good rate of climb and a high ceiling, its main advantage was that it retained good control at heights where other aircraft were difficult to fly, and its performance was such that it was specifically named in the Armistice Agreement to be handed over to the Allies.

Dolphin, 1918: A single-seat fighter, the Dolphin is noteworthy for the unusual back-stagger of its wings. In spite of a troublesome engine it proved itself effective for ground attack work, as well as aerial combat. A total of 1,532 Dolphins were built, and they remained in front-line service until the end of the war.

Cuckoo, 1918: a single-seat torpedo bomber, the Cuckoo was so named because it was intended to lay its ‘egg’ in other peoples’ nests! The first squadron embarked on the carrier H.M.S. Argus in October 1918, but the war ended before it could go into action. The aircraft is, however, credited with pioneering the techniques which were used so successfully during the Second World War.

VIMY, 1918: this twin-engined bomber, too late for operational service in the First World War, achieved fame with a series of post-war long distance flights, most notably the first non-stop transatlantic flight by Alcock & Brown in June 1919. Another, flown by the Smith Brothers and two mechanics, left Britain on 12 November, 1919 and reached Port Darwin Australia, 11,000 miles (17,700 km.) away, on 10 December. The Eagle was the most widely used of the various Vimy engines.